Of Stones and Dreams
by Afoenix
Summary: Bella Swan was supposed to start her first day as a researcher in a library after moving to NYC. But due to a series of unfortunate events, she ends up hired as an assistant to the Senior VP of a huge company she knows nothing about. Worse yet, is her new boss Mr. Cullen, who seems hell-bent on driving her insane.
1. Chapter 1

If I had any foresight, which to my infinite misfortune I didn't, I would've known that this day would've begun disastrously and only worsen by night. My trusty alarm clock failing to go off as it usually did should've been the first clue.

As I jumped out of bed, I knew that I wouldn't be late but I was still too close for my liking. I always liked to show up at least 15 minutes early everywhere. And show up an hour early for places I've never been before. I showered and put on my makeup, more than usual, as I recited the directions in my head.

I tore off my fifth outfit and threw it into a heap on the floor, deeming it too casual for my first day at my first post-college job. Even though it was only a library, it was still a library in New York City. And though my scholarly new co-workers would hardly take a second look at my appearance, I still wanted to make a good impression. It was to be my first day after all; I may as well take advantage of the motivation since I knew only too well that I'd stop making the effort to dress up about a week in as usual.

Not that I didn't like dressing up—I'm as vain as the next girl—but it was something I always did in splurges on special occasions. The way I saw it, I'd rather look comparably stunning one day or night and look like me every other day than to look pleasant every day and horrific on the one day I'm caught without makeup. I say this from personal experience having witnessed one too many girlfriends without their daily "masks" on. I learned my lesson early on not to show the immediate expression of my startled emotions. Girls tended to remember things like that.

Finally settling on a black pencil skirt, and a basic crisp white work-shirt, both of which fit snugly on my small frame, I tied my hair into a bun and walked out of my closet-sized bedroom into the vast studio apartment that was to be my new home in New York for the foreseeable future. To be fair, it was fairly large for a closet—one of those huge walk-ins you see in magazines of rich homes that the general reader can never afford anyways. It fit all that I needed anyways—a bed, lamp, space for clothes and books.

How I managed to snag such a good location, right in the middle of Manhattan at the last minute, was beyond me. It probably had to do with my new roommate, Alice, and our fortuitous meeting on the subway—she spilt hot tea on me and felt so bad she invited me back to her place to clean up. And I ended up staying indefinitely, as it worked out.

I briskly walked over to the open kitchen, preparing a quick Special K cereal breakfast as Alice walked groggily out of the bedroom she shared with her boyfriend, Jasper.

" _Bella!_ You are _not_ walking out that door to your first day at your first job wearing just _that."_ What Alice lacked in stature, she more than made up for in sass.

I almost sputtered out my mouthful of cereal with the spoon still frozen in my mouth at Alice's stance, hands on hips and glare at-the-ready. "What's wrong with what I have on?" I asked innocently.

Alice sighed before plopping down in front of me. "Nothing is wrong with it, it just needs some _pizzazz. Oomph."_

I narrowed my eyes at her, slowly crunching the food in my mouth. "Alice, I'm starting work at a library, not a nightclub."

Alice raised one perfectly tweezed eyebrow. "Bella, this is _New York City._ You never know what opportunities you'll come across or who you'll meet. So you should _always_ look your best. _"_

"Alice, you're a high-end stylist. You're gonna think I'm not trying unless I'm glammed up 24/7."

Alice sighed in exasperation. "Fine, we'll compromise. You can leave as long as you wear one pair of shoes and one accessory of my choosing."

Jasper expertly covered up a laugh and tilted his head to hide his "yikes" impression from his girlfriend.

I deliberated for a moment. Alice was small but…she was stubborn and remarkably strong for her size. Also, appearance-wise, she could do no wrong. But comfort…well that was a foreign concept to her when it came to fashion. But I quickly relented when I noticed her glare becoming a little too maniacal. Just in case she added a _third_ thing too.

Said pair of shoes ended up being bright red patent high heels with a pointed tip sharp enough to puncture through iron. And the accessory was a signature style of Alice's herself, all bangles and shine, dangling well below my waist. I imagined myself tripping over my shoes while stabbing an innocent bystander to death as I choked on my necklace that was caught on everything.

"Alice, I'm a walking hazard," I said as I stared down at my feet, which seemed much further down than usual.

"No, you're a _stumbling_ hazard," Alice said with a smile. She had clucked at my wobbly walk to the front door.

I opened my mouth to protest that it was _her_ contraption that she forced me into before she held up a finger to silence me.

"Correction," she said, looking me up and down. "You're a _hot_ hazard. Careful not to run into any naughty boys now," she said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes I'm sure the elderly gentlemen where I work will bust their hips to catch me when I fall."

Jasper laughed as Alice rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, everything will be great, now go and conquer the city."

I laughed and walked out. _I'll be happy if I get there without getting lost,_ I thought. I hobbled my way into the elevator, secretly glad that it was all-mirror walls inside, allowing me to have one last check over my look.

A small-town twenty-one year old girl, fresh out of college about to start her first job in the Big Apple was staring back with wide, careful brown eyes. My pale face looked up and down my reflection, noting that Alice was right as usual. The bangles and hot red shoes did add an _oomph_ to my appearance.

But they would also gleefully contribute to the gradual unraveling of my day. Well, maybe, it would be more accurate to say ripping apart. This is the calm before the storm, so-to-speak, before the disaster of my day truly begins. Of course, I had no idea of the details at this point. The devil is in the details they say. And little did I know, I was about to meet my devil.

Bodily that is. Literally, as soon as I walked out into the crisp morning air, a huge and speeding form crashed into me, wiping the triumphant smile off my face for having walked down the steps without falling, before unintentionally dragging me along with him to whatever hell he was eager to get to.

I heard an impatient tut as, naturally, he was pulled back by my weight. For a moment both of us froze, not understanding why we were stuck before I realized it was Alice's jewelry that was caught onto his suit jacket.

"It's caught on your jacket," I said trying to pull it off of him only to realize that I was making it worse and bringing us closer together. I was so concentrated on the task that I had hardly looked up to even see his face.

But I could sense his frustration as he released an impatient sigh. "Allow me." His voice was deep, commanding and curt. _Welcome to New York City, indeed._

Before I could respond or even look up to see what he planned, the man had taken off his jacket, leaving it dangling in my hand and turned sharply around to speed off in the direction he was headed. All I saw before he turned the corner at the end of the street was the back of his short brown hair and his tall lean frame in black suit-pants and a crisp, white shirt. I didn't even remember him uttering an apology.

There I stood, alone in the middle of the street, alone in New York City with some rude gentleman's suit jacket. It looked expensive. It looked like it was worth more than my entire closet of clothing. Possibly my month's rent. And he had simply slung it off and left it with me in his hurry.


	2. Chapter 2

I stared up at the building in shock, my mouth parted in an unattractive gape that would've made Alice groan. Then I looked back down at the paper in my hand to make certain the address matched. For the thirtieth time.

This was a library? Or was the library inside this giant, high-rise sleek building that looked too fancy even to look at? I could practically feel my apprehension in my shoulders, as I observed the people walking in and out of the building. Men and women dressed to kill in sleek suits and stylish hair. I felt intrusive just breathing. Thank God for Alice's foresight.

Steeling my resolve, I walked with what I hoped looked like a confident gait towards the glass doors. But as I neared and saw my reflection, I realized I looked more like a waddling duck. Damn Alice and her heels. Oh well.

Once the Receptionist paused from her phone lines with what sounded like fifty people, she looked rudely up at me and arched an eyebrow.

"I..I um…" I cleared my throat. "I'm looking for the library. I'm supposed to be starting today—"

"Oh you must be with the construction crew," the young woman said brusquely.

"Er, no, actually I'm—"

"It's on the fifth floor." She jerked her head towards my right.

"Yes, but—"

But the Receptionist had already moved on to warmly greet a distinguished-looking gentleman behind me—though not forgetting to throw me a glare as I stood there too long for her liking.

I quickly walked off in the direction she gestured and found two sleek elevator doors, and pushed the buttons in between. Examining my reflection in the doors, I couldn't find anything about me that indicated I was a construction worker. What was she on about?

Just as the doors pulled open, a strutting female figure cut in front of me breezily without so much as an 'excuse me.' I managed to squeeze in behind her quickly before the doors shut. The blonde bombshell glared at me for a long moment before I moved myself as close to the corner as possible.

She was going to the fiftieth floor too. Great. Thankfully when the doors opened, Blonde got out immediately and disappeared with her shoes tapping rapidly away on the tile floors. And I couldn't move that fast even if I wanted to.

Stepping out gingerly I anguished again at finding where I was supposed to be, but I didn't have to anguish long. A huge sign next to an office posted with an arrow: "Library—down the hall to the right." Well that was helpful.

What wasn't helpful was me being on my feet pretty much for the entire morning now. Which meant, I was walking wobblier and my feet were throbbing more angrily. I tried to console myself that it was only a few hours until lunch.

When I stood in front of the glass (again, was every door here made of glass?) doors to the library, my forehead crinkled in confusion. It was clearly a library. There were shelves and those shelves had books. But all the shelves seemed to positioned at random and were on wheels.

I gingerly walked in and tried to hear out for the presence of another human. But it was perfectly quiet. I tried to wind my way through the shelves to see if there might be a desk in the back. The task was enormously difficult not only because my feet were now beginning to go numb from pain, but also because of the haphazard way the shelves were placed. Some barely had any room in between.

Just as I thought I'd swim out of this chaos, my shoe snagged onto something on the ground and I reacted instinctively not to trip and smash face-first into the ground: I reached out automatically to steady myself on a bookshelf.

And that's how the series of unfortunate events of my day began. At first I thought I was still falling but quickly realized that I was falling backwards now and that was because the shelf I'd pushed to balance myself had been pushed back.

I heard the shelf hitting the shelf behind it just as my butt hit the floor. And that shelf hit the one behind it. And the one behind that. And that. And…that.

The crash was resounding, and somewhere in my mind it still echoed, reverberating through my shaking body all the way down to my aching bum planted firmly on the ground. The jolt of the fall and ramifications of what I'd just done left me frozen in my state.

I wasn't sure how long I'd stay that way but before long a man swam into my vision, his face very close as he crouched near me.

He was striking. Especially in his impeccable suit. I had to admit, he was handsome. Too handsome. Intimidatingly so. As if looking at him too long would be deemed rude.

But look I did. His face with its sharp features had an elegance and sophistication that hinted at aristocratic lines.

But it was none of these things, which I had only later analyzed, that held my attention in this moment. It was his eyes. Two slim gleaming eyes under a hooded brow, which shone with such intensity I was afraid he could see right through me.

And also possibly down my blouse.

Because he was literally right above me, crouching on one knee next to me on the ground. The eyes that unnerved me looked at me with what I hoped was concern, under a deep frown.

But it could've also been annoyance. Justifiably so, considering I had just toppled over the entire library bookshelf. And my ensuing mortification had temporarily muted me as I stared up at him wide-eyed, not answering any of his questions.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been on the floor, but the fading ache in my bum told me it may have been a good five minutes. The resounding crash of books and shelves however seemed not to have faded as it rang in my ear reminding me of my clumsiness. So it may have also been five seconds.

In any case, I was finding it hard to think coherently after failing to walk cohesively.

It was these darn shoes, that was all. I was perfectly capable of walking in a general direction, if not always in a straight line, without knocking things or people over as long as I was wearing flats. But the high-heels that I put on today, at the incessant suggestion of my new roommate and first and only current friend in New York, made even movement impossible let alone walking in a straight line.

I heard the man give an impatient tut, looking distractedly behind him looking for something. Then he spoke again.

"Look, I can't just leave you here alone while I get someone. So I need to know if you're alright to stand."

He spoke with a firm authority. No questions, just-do-it sort of tone. His eyes only served to accentuate his will.

I thought I'd gurgle incoherently if I spoke, so I just nodded, surprised to find a small relief slightly soften his features.

I felt his arms go about my waist and before I could hold on to him to support my weight, he simply tightened his grasp and lifted me up in one fluid motion.

The quick movement made me a bit woozy, but not so woozy to note that even with my heels on, he stood a good head taller than me. And now he was leaning into me, his head tilted to the side as he peered down at me with the same frown as before.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yes," I croaked. Good job, Bella. Now apologize to the nice gentleman for the trouble and mess you've made. "You smell really heady."

My own eyes widened at my words, seemingly come out of nowhere.

His face cleared of its former frown to be replaced with slight amusement as his eyebrows arched. But then his mouth curved into a small lopsided smile. "I'm quite certain that has more to do with your fall than with my cologne. But thank you nonetheless."

He did smell good, whatever the likely expensive cologne, it served its purpose well, I thought.

I was about to finally apologize when I was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek.

"Oh my GOD! Edward, are you alright!?" Blonde Bombshell from the elevator practically flew towards us—well, to "Aidan" more so than me, for whom she hardly spared a glance.

I felt myself stumble back a little, trying to subconsciously create space between me and her nasal voice. But the man was still holding me steady and didn't budge. I secretly delighted in his slightly annoyed expression at Blonde, realizing that I wasn't the only one who found her irritating.

Blonde was my height, around 5'5'', but bustier and tanner. And blonder, obviously. She looked like a California girl in an East Coast work suit.

Now, she would be what many considered "hot," though I only found her blindingly dazzling in the most nauseating sense. But I had the creeping suspicion that most men would find her quite far from my analysis. In fact, most men would probably be too busy being dazzled.

Like this "Edward" who still would not let go of me. Goodness, I just fell that was all. And basically obliterated a library. But for all intents and purposes, the valuable assets were unharmed for the most part. Namely my head, woozy as it was.

I forced myself not to grimace as I listened to Blonde coo at this Edward.

"Are you hurt? When I heard the crash, I was SO worried."

Edward gave a curt nod. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, but this young lady here, miss..."

Young lady? He looked hardly older than me. He looked at me inquisitively and again I was a little perturbed by the intense focus of his glare.

Then I jumped when they narrowed and my brain caught up. "Uh Bella. I'm Bella."

Edward gave me a queer look before returning his gaze to Blonde. "Miss Bella here has taken quite the fall, so if you could see to her needs, I can be on my way."

I stiffened in annoyance. Be on his way? One look at Blonde told me that the last thing she wanted to do was to assist to my needs. "I didn't mean to impose on your precious time, sir, please do be on your way. I don't recall having flagged you down, but I apologize nonetheless." I pulled myself back finally releasing my waist from his hold and cringed internally at my sarcastic jibe.

Edward looked at me with his eyebrows slightly raised, with renewed eyes, as if he didn't expect such audacity.

This was a problem with me. A problem that had time and again found me trouble. My temper was a nasty thing when flared and unfortunately, it flared all-too-easily, much to my chagrin. I had tried again and again to work on this problem, but I never quite found progress even after endless meditation lessons that only served to make me sleepy. At least they served that much, I ought to be grateful.

 **A/N:**

Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm really glad you guys liked it. I will try to post at least once a week (sorry this one's a little late) and keep it around 1000 words per post. :) Let me know what you guys think so far!


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